Hundreds bear the heat for football jamboree

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August 12, 2010 9:11:37 PM PDT

WAKE FOREST --

Hundreds of people know firsthand what it's like to suffer in the stifling August heat. They attended the football jamboree at Heritage High in Wake Forest Thursday where the athletes and spectators had to take extra steps to play it safe.

By the evening, a heat index in the triple digits proved too much for football player Taylor Sadowski.

The defensive tackle from Wake Forest's Rolesville High School had to take a break from the field to cool off.

"Getting ice water, just drinking water and just trying to stay as cool as possible," Sadowski said.

Leesville Road High School Head Coach David Green says in his 38 year career, this week has been one of the toughest to deal with.

"We had one player who had to get an IV after Monday's practice," Green said.

That's why he says they've had to adjust their practice schedule, planning for sessions earlier in the morning and shortening ones in the afternoon.

Green has also been educating players about the need to stay hydrated all the time, not just on game day.

"The key to it is that they've been doing it all week and all day not just waiting till they get out here and then try and catch up because you just can't at that point," he said.

And because of the heat, time on the field is limited.

"Starters are going to go just a very little bit and then we're going to try to play everybody tonight at some point in there, because the heat, the heat's just too brutal, you can't stay out there very long," Green said.